Ḥimā Cultural Area

Caravans have paused at the wells of Bi'r Ḥimā for at least 3,000 years — they still give fresh water — making this stop on an ancient desert road one of the oldest known toll stations anywhere. Around it, 7,000 years of travellers, armies and herders covered the rocks of this mountainous corner of southwest Saudi Arabia with petroglyphs of hunts and wildlife plus inscriptions in Musnad, Thamudic, Greek and Arabic scripts. UNESCO inscribed the Ḥimā Cultural Area in 2021.